Grrl Power #362 – Equipmental

Sydney is stumbling around verbally cause she keeps almost forgetting that not everyone knows that Dabbler isn’t human. To be honest I kind of keep forgetting it too, and it’s probably only a matter of time before I slip up in the comic. Now me personally, if I’m in a room full of superheroes and one of them says “By the way I’m actually an alien adventurer from a race that inspired your current cultural image of demons.” my reaction would probably be “Neat.” But in reality, that is a rather loaded revelation; extraterrestrial life, sapience, civilization, demons are real – sort of. The general populace would have a much harder time absorbing that, not to mention how crazy it would drive a great deal of the religious populace. Sure most people on the more casual side of the spectrum would shrug and think “Hey, cool, God is everywhere, right? Makes sense.” but of course to anyone fervently under the impression that humans are God’s favorite pet project, it could cause some violent cognitive dissonance. That’s why they haven’t revealed her origin to the general populace yet.

In fact Arianna and those in the know have a directive to never actually refer to Dabbler as a human so they can’t be caught in a lie later when she is revealed. It’s not that hard really. Given that we don’t live in a post-warp drive era society rife with aliens, how often do you have to describe someone as human in casual conversation? Though when dealing with Supers, the question of whether or not they are human will occasionally come up. That’s kind of a difficult question to answer, because first you have to define what a species is. Normally a species is defined as the largest group of individuals that can interbreed and produce fertile offspring. (There are some problems with this since some life reproduces asexually but it works pretty well for higher order life) A horse and a donkey can interbreed and produce a mule, but mules are almost always infertile, hence horses and donkeys are different species. (They also have a different number of chromosomes which is pretty telling, but let’s stick with the interbreeding thing.) Supers and humans can easily interbreed and the result will either be a super or a human, (and they have the same number of chromosomes if anyone was wondering) so by that measure they’re the same species. But then things get problematic – Succubi can interbreed with humans and many other species, and the result is always a succubus, but they’re certainly not human. They just have crazy baby factories. (Dabbler will explain this in some detail eventually) Taking that in to account, someone could argue that Supers are a non-human species that happens to be capable of producing fertile offspring with humans. Who knows, maybe every Super has that as a super power?

For the record I don’t think armored socks of any kind would be remotely practical. Maxima is just saying that they would be physically possible to create, just to mollify Heatwave. Crap I just realized Achilles should be sitting next to her. I guess he dropped his Skittles too.

Here’s the link to the new comments highlighter for chrome, and the GitHub link which you can use to install on FireFox via Greasemonkey.

Discussion (591) ¬

Ooh, I may have just spotted the trigger for Sydney levelling up. We know that Halo’s orbs respond to her mental commands. For instance punching Math with one, or ordering them into and out of Tubey or making them form a particular pattern. So, in order to level-up, Sydney might simply have to think about it, and maybe reflect on her experiences, before the process can be triggered.

And Maxima could well have initiated that process, on panel 3 of this page.

We know that Sydney’s mind bounces all over the place, but that she does come back to reflect on experiences. So the delay between the trigger and the subsequent level up does not detract overly from the argument. And the delay was mostly Sydney’s own demonstration, and the hell-on-Earth that was Maxima’s. Thus it is not surprising that Halo’s mind was on other things, for a while.

Sydney just has to think about it to level up? This seems a little too easy to me as she could quickly level everything up to their max once she realizes it. It seems more likely to me that she has to do certain things, achieve certain prerequisites, or at the very least have a certain amount of time pass. I mean, if she can pretty much jump to full power in just a few days of contemplation, why have any kind of leveling up process at all?

Obviously I have no information or evidence with which to prove you wrong, though, any more than I have any to prove me right.

Oh, sorry, I omitted any preamble about previous discussions regarding this. Clearly there has to be more to it.* But various questions were debated, including “why did the skill tree activate then?” People pointed out that Sydney had learnt things previously, when using the orbs, so why did the tree not activate earlier? This provides a possible answer.

* From a story point of view, rather than any other reason.

After all if the orbs are manufactured devices, with user-customisable (or selectable) upgrades, you would want them to be able to just pick them on demand.

Of course, if doing that locked you in to choosing particular versions, and thereby permanently loosing the chance for other options, then users might choose to delay committing, until they found a situation which specifically required one or the other. So this could explain why only part of the tree is already filled in, by the previous owner.

Perhaps they found out the hard way, that even if you desperately want to choose ‘automatically replenish air supply’, switching to ‘skill tree mode’ is not a wise thing to do whilst deep underwater!

After re-reading the page and pages after it that you linked I think triggering the level up is much simpler than you’re making it out to be. Sydney’s shield was pushed harder than it ever was before then because of Maxima’s big explosion so fulfilled the exp. requirement for the current level. There may be non-exp-related requirements like you said (I personally don’t think there are any) but I think Max’s explosion certainly fulfilled the exp-related requirements.

Oh yea, that is a solid explanation, and one I have gone with myself in the past. And it remains a strong contender. But I do like to explore alternate possibilities too. And, in this comic, it is worthwhile. Dave embeds so much detail and subtle content that there are many possibilities. Especially as some of it genuinely is foreshadowing. The page of Arianna making dire speculations, about super villains, being a more overt example of the practice.

The explanation of having pushed a power to its limits is good. But not perfect. For example Sydney has pushed her tentacle to its limits, in finding out the maximum weight she can lift (a small or medium sized car). So if it held true for the shield, why not for the tentacle?

An obvious way around that problem would be if each incident added ‘experience points’, with limit pushing being a significant bonus. Which, I guess, just sits ill with me, subconsciously. That would make Sydney more like a character in a computer or table-top roleplaying game, rather than a person in her own right.

Don’t get me wrong, her ‘skill tree’ is awesome. As is being able to unlock it. But there is still that niggling question at the back of the mind. Unless shown that she is controlling things herself (such as with the suggestion I made here), who is Halo’s player?

Just as a random thought – but what Dabbler should have said during the PR event as her powerset was ‘technopath’ or ‘technomage’. It would cover why she could do all kinds of things, explain why her tech only works for her, and could even cover her ‘battle form’ – just say it’s an advanced battlesuit of some sort, similar to the Goblin suit from Spiderman. (Offer to demonstrate by taking off an arm – she’s got one she can remove…)

It covers everything, explains things neatly, and yet doesn’t reveal magic or her secrets. (And would be a nice bit of misdirection at the same time for anyone trying to counter her.)

Archon is trying to avoid direct lies and misinformation so that when the inevitable alien/demon/world ending invasion/threat shows up and let’s the cat out of the bag people can’t go, “You lied about this?!!? Shut em down!”

And Arianna handled it another way, in any event. We need to consider more than just the dialogue portrayed. There were also press hand-outs, which summarise the member’s powers. We can surmise the contents of these, for Dabbler’s entry, via other indicators that we have seen elsewhere.

For example Maxima is willing to reveal that her skin is not made of gold, but that it’s true nature is classified. Likewise that the brown and green orbs properties are similarly classified. But more than that, so is the yellow one. The True-sight properties are not going to be obvious in use, so can be withheld to retain their tactical advantage.

Plus whatever other gadgets (and visible spells) have been cleared for use. Just like the public were entitled to know when tasers got issued to police. Not providing detailed information (unlike with tasers), is justifiable though, as these will be in the hands of a single highly-trained individual, rather than in general use. So are not a broad threat to the general public, and her individual use can be more easily monitored and evaluated.

And, if Arianna was really on the ball, and able to get a last-minute re-print, following Dabbler going off-script, it will also state:

• Shape-change into battle-form.

Her sexual attraction, hypnoboobs, illusions, mental powers and non-visual spells will all be omitted. As will any discussion of how these things work. They are not need-to know, and it is very easy to deter any persistent enquiries. Providing such details could allow criminals and hostile nations to develop countermeasures, so no such will be forthcoming. Likewise it is known that super-powers are not fully understood, so speculating on such things formally would be avoided, in any event.

Dabbler admits here that most of her weapons are geared towards killing folks, but then again so are most of humanity’s. On a previous page, we saw her working on some kind of tickle ray. Am I wrong, or is she overlooking the most obvious form of non-lethal takedown? Why not focus on the construction of a gun that shoots a Star Trek style stun beam?

We don’t know if she’s overlooking it or not – we have no idea what she has or is working on, besides what she’s actually used. She may have one she’s working on someplace.

On the other hand, I think the physics here are a bit more realistic than Star Trek, and the stun beam is one of the least realistic pieces of physics in Star Trek. There’s very little difference between ‘stun for half an hour’ and ‘kill’ with any impact or energy weapon (and the phaser is shown to be some cross between impact and energy). There’s even less difference between ‘stun a 200lb man’ and ‘kill a 90lb kid’. A general-purpose ‘stun anyone’ beam weapon would have to be auto-adjusting and calibrating, not just for the target but for where it hits on the target. Something like her wrap gun is much easier to make and use.

In the original Trek series, there were different stun settings that could be chosen. Including options for an area attack (hence “phasers”, ie. “phased energy”). And remember, even the Enterprise main weapons had that kind of versatility. In one episode–“A Piece of the Action” I believe–Kirk had the Enterprise stun a whole intersection full of tommy-gun-toting wanna-be gangsters. From orbit.

Which just makes them more impossible, not less… (Also note on high power they completely disappeared items or bodies – not vaporized (which would cause a vapor explosion) but just made them disappear and be replaced with ambient pressure/temperature air.)

I’ve got to agree with DStaal here. There’s a reason why things like tasers are not called “non-lethal”, they’re called “less than lethal”. An even more accurate term would be “USUALLY less than lethal”. A taser hit that most people would recover from, could be lethal to someone with heart problems.

Something like an area-effect stun ray would have to be able to somehow differentiate between things like “how much energy do I need to knock out a 200-pound meth user” versus “how much energy do I need to use to knock out this 90-pound young man?” Otherwise, the “dose” that stops the 200-pound rampaging meth user could KILL anyone smaller… or it would have to use an entirely different method that we haven’t discovered yet.

I recall watching this movie set in a future America (including runaway inflation… a HOT DOG costs $48), where they had finally figured out the human “off switch”. The U.S. Marshalls even had special bullets that didn’t do any damage, they just made you go to sleep… Forever. Unless they touched you with a device that reversed it. Most convicted criminals spent their entire sentence sleeping, except for the female Big Bad of the movie. SHE got to stay awake, because all the crimes she had committed were part of an effort to stay eternally young, and out of poetic justice (I guess), they wanted her to be awake so she could watch herself grow old.

(And no, I’m not talking about Minority Report. In that one, they actually had to catch you first, and then put that halo thing on you. The one I’m talking about was a made-for-TV movie; unfortunately I can’t remember the name of it.)

Anyway, you’d need something like those “can make anyone fall asleep” bullets for a truly non-lethal weapon. The “sick stick” from Minority Report is a close second. It’s hard to run when you’re bent over puking.

I never really got the point of that ‘sleep through your entire prison sentence’ thing that crops up now and again in SciFi stories. Unless it’s a life sentence, you’ll just release them at some point with no memories of being in prison, and no new skills or training to use to find a job. In fact, they are behind the times by the length of their sentence. Likely the only thing they can do to get an income is to steal. There’s literally no incentive to not continue to be a criminal, and plenty to re-enter a life of crime.

And if it is a life sentence, it’s basically a more humane death sentence – and keeping them alive for their normal lifespan is basically wasting money when they could already be dead and buried. (They can’t contribute anything, or even appeal their case while asleep, after all.)

Some handwave some sort of ‘sleep training’ thing going on at the same time – but there’s no concept of how that might work, it still doesn’t give a reason to stay out of prison, and in many cases amounts to State-authorized brainwashing. (In the cases where it doesn’t, it sounds like a reasonable alternative to college – commit a crime, get some skill training while sleeping for a few years, then go back and enter the workforce. Less effort and more effective, as well as cheaper, from what’s usually shown.)

Aside from someone sleeping through their sentence taking up less space, I agree with you. If they’re hooked up to life support that makes sure they get nutrition, and handles all their waste products so they never have to be woken up, then you don’t need an entire jail cell for them… a bunk is all they need. Though the machine would also have to do something to counter muscle atrophy… because if they’re not serving a life sentence, you don’t want them to be 90-pound emaciated weaklings when they leave, either.

“Why not focus on the construction of a gun that shoots a Star Trek style stun beam?”

Because, although you are going along the right lines, you do not have quite the best angle. Her comments provide foreshadowing though, so do not click below if you like surprises. It is only speculation, but it is working on the hint Dave has given us.

Barbarella-style orgasm beams are funnier! Although I doubt either Arianna or Maxima would allow them to be deployed outside of Dabbler’s laboratory experiments.

Of course, turning the dial on any stun weapon, above 10, needs to be avoided, if they are capable of directly causing death. But even highly advanced weapons which pose no direct health risks (say by reducing the effect if encountering a sick or injured target), they still pose a risk of death when being used.

Should someone driving a car, or other vehicle, be hit, they could kill many people, including themselves. Likewise even falling from a standing position, can result in a fatal head blow, say on a curb-stone or rock. And even those which simply cause disorientation, rather than rendering someone unconscious, could end up with those things happening. Be it tripping over a rock, or not paying attention to other road traffic.

While that may theoretically sound good, some people can’t stand how contacts make them feel, causing far too much irritation to their eyes. As for the teleport angle, unless they could get it precisely on target in a location with only single-digit millimeters to work with on someone who is quite likely to be moving around a LOT (dodging attacks, counter-attacking, getting into position, etc.), I think most people would reject the idea very quickly, sorry mate…

That isn’t guaranteed to work. In addition to what Screwball said, some people actually have a full-blown allergic reaction to contact lenses. Have you ever seen the Pentatonix video that is a Daft Punk medley? If so, have you ever wondered why Kevin got to wear that visor, while everyone else was wearing custom contacts? THAT’S why. He had an allergic reaction to them.

Until Arc-spark understand how super-powers work, well enough to be able to replicate them, their gadgets are going to have to remain restricted to current cutting edge Earth technology. Dabbler has made it very clear she is not going to supply any of the advanced alien stuff.

So teleportation is out, I am afraid.

Many opticians and medical organisations are also discouraging the use of contact lenses. The long-term health risks, although slight, cannot be totally eliminated. Once you have had one patient suffer permanent vision impairment, or even blindness, due to something you have supplied them, you need to re-evaluate your Hippocratic oath.

Kevlar has a very high tensile strength, which makes it good for making rope and cloth out of, but it’s ability to stop bullets is based on the bullet being rifled, the bullet actually snags the Kevlar and gets tangled in it because of it’s high speed rotation, which plays to the Kevlar’s strong suit: it’s high tensile strength. Un-rifled bullets, rifled bullets that are hard enough, or slippery enough that they don’t get snagged easily and bullets that simply have too much force behind for the Kevlar to handle are all able to render Kevlar practically useless. Kevlar isn’t very useful for stopping bladed weapons or arrows either, so Kevlar socks would be of little use if they were intended to prevent the wearer from getting stabbed in the foot.

Steel plates and chain-mail are much more effective at blocking bladed weapons, as are some ceramics and other metal alloys.

> but it’s ability to stop bullets is based on the bullet being rifled, the bullet actually snags the Kevlar and gets tangled in it because of it’s high speed rotation

Do you have a source on that?

I’m pretty sure Kevlar works because the strands are woven tightly together and it takes a lot of energy to make them stretch, let alone break. The bullet hits the weave, the energy is dissipated through a large area, and there isn’t enough energy remaining to break the fibers. Since the bullet can’t go into your body without either breaking through the Kevlar or making it stretch a LOT, the bullet doesn’t kill you.

Lovot’s description is that of Arrows and Silk, a spinning arrow will catch in a loosely worn silk shirt. Even if it doesn’t stop penetration, after reducing the impact it will get caught up in the wound, initially staunching bleeding and then making it easier to pull the arrow out with out doing more damage.

What I heard about silk & arrows (I don’t know how accurate it is) is that since silk is stronger than steel, if it’s woven tightly enough it will get dragged into the wound with the arrowhead. The big problem with a broadhead arrow is that when the head completely enters a wound, it acts like a barb and the wound closes over the corners making it impossible to remove without cutting the wound larger, or pushing it out through the other side. With silk over the broadhead the silk will gently spread the wound over the edges allowing it to be removed without further damage.

I would not describe it as “silk being stronger than steel”, but that aside, it is historically accurate that the Mongol hordes did wear silk shirts, for precisely the reason you described. And they were very effective.

Most ancient battlefield injuries resulted in death from infection and disease (typically being at least double the mortality rates than from wounds alone). But that technique probably helped to reduce infection. Which, in conjunction with the reasons you described, would help to explain why their attrition rates, when under fire, were lower than you would otherwise expect, for such lightly armoured troops opposed by heavily armoured enemies.

Trawling is safer, if less environmentally friendly (unless very careful net designs and practices are used). Surfing,* on the other paw, is fun and avoids being anti-social, if kept to appropriate areas.

* Sorry about having to split up my post into three separate replies. The server kept rejecting them when posted as one. And it seems like this part was the problem. Looks like I shall have to put the link in raw form, as it refuses to let me embed it, no matter what variants I try:

Awesome suggestions. Both play well on the physical side of things. Lacking somewhat on the sensory side though, as going contrary to the slow-motion perception he gains. But names do not have to encompass all of a character’s power set (or any, for that matter). And they get bonus points for style.

I wonder if Dabbler is under an illusion at the moment? One just designed to soften her alien features, and make her look more human. So that it will be easier for her to convince team-mates, who are not in the loop, that the official explanation is credible, in a more subtle way.

actually, religious people have been speculating on life on other worlds before the secular philosophers even considered it (read your C.S. Lewis, kids). And atheists strangely seem to be the ones who have trouble with the idea… consider Lovecraft, whose psyche nearly imploded with xenophobic horror just contemplating the idea (of course he was so poorly strung together a picture of dogs playing poker would have triggered existential horror in him…). And an alarming number of secular scientists are on record stating that that discovery of intelligent life elsewhere would doom humanity because the only “rational” response any race could have to discovery of another in the galaxy would be to exterminate it immediately(!)

Beyond that one doesn’t have to imagine humanity to be “God’s favorite pet project” (we’re a bit more important than that) to get upset that the US government is employing a witchcraft-using nymphomaniac DEMON as a Hero Buster. A rational person would have concerns about everything from damning human souls to humanity catching a virulent strain of space herpes.

I might think that chainmail socks might be considered for the list of ‘standard equipment’. They are readily available, off the shelf, for people who work with axes and chainsaws, especially people who compete in lumberjack competitions. They will and do stop an axe to the foot – leaving a lot of bruising, but your foot will be in one piece. Search Google for “lumberjack socks chainmail”. MailleTec is one company that sells them.

If you are talking about the final panel, and the one attached to the arm, around Heatwave’s shoulders, that is Mr Amorphous. If you check the previous page, you will see that he is sitting in the seat next to her.

Heatwave will be getting them. I imagine that they are not part of the standard gear, because of the discomfort factor mentioned.

Plus combat boots should be rugged enough that the extra protection offered is minimal. Their boots probably utilise the Kevlar 2.0 as part of their design. Trouble is they were caught off-duty, so most only had civilian clothes on anyhow.

Heatwave’s kevlar socks would probably not prevent a similar injury in the future. Kevlar is slash resistant, not stab resistant. It needs the extra new gel-packs behind the cloth to improve that. Which would be very hard to fit into socks. Heatwave would need clown-sized shoes, if she wanted to have significant all-around protection.

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